Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893. Symphony No. 2, Op. 17, ``Little Russian''. Completed October 1872, first performance February 7, 1873, in Moscow. Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, tympani, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, and strings.
In 1872, Tchaikovsky's fledgling career as a composer seemed to have stopped almost before it had begun. Although a few pieces, notably the Romeo and Juliet overture, had been moderately successful, most of his works had encountered harsh criticism. He began work on his second symphony during his summer vacation, but did not accomplish much at first until his travels led him to Usovo, where, refreshed and restored, he made tremendous progress before returning to Moscow in the fall to complete the work.
The première of the symphony was a great success, and the critic Laroche, who had once been a good friend but had recently attacked Tchaikovsky unmercifully, wrote approvingly of the work's ``well-motivated and artistically worked-out contrasts.'' A second performance was hastily arranged for St. Petersburg, and Tchaikovsky finally found the recognition he deserved. (The symphony as played in modern times has benefited from additional revisions made in 1879 and 1880.)
The Second Symphony is nicknamed the ``Little Russian'' because of its use of material drawn from folk melodies. (This was neither the first nor the last time that Tchaikovsky, always closely allied with his culture, drew on folk music for his own works.) Among numerous examples, the first movement's vivacious melody is based on the song ``Down by Mother Volga,'' and one of the final movement's two themes is from ``The Crane,'' a dance song Tchaikovsky had heard sung by a butler. It is interesting to consider that the success of this charming symphony depended partially on the idle (and probably subconscious) singing of an anonymous servant!
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